Stroll through Scripture for Sunday, October 4, 2026

Based on Exodus 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:5-6

Before we dive into the reflection, I’d like to offer just a short note.  The reading I’ve selected for this Sunday and next differs from the Narrative Lectionary selection.  This is due to the Narrative Lectionary selecting portions of Exodus 19 and 20 next week, which are on the Ten Commandments.  Since we took the opportunity to explore the Ten Commandments over four weeks in August, I didn’t feel it necessary to revisit the Ten Commandments so soon.  Now on to our weekly reflection. 

Our selected reading for this Sunday gives us small sections of Exodus 12, 13 and 15.  It’s the summary version of the story of Isreal’s exodus out of Egypt.  And more specifically, it is about the Passover and the telling of the Passover story.  

When Jews gather for their annual Passover Seder, a major section of the meal is called the “Magid” or “The Telling.”  It is a recounting of the story of the Exodus, orally passing on the tradition to new generations to keep telling the story.  It focuses on the history and in the telling of the story, it wraps a new generation into the story.  

A key feature of this story telling is that those in the meal aren’t just hearing the story as if it were ancient history.  They are invited to hear the story as if they themselves participated in the exodus.  

The entire exodus narrative acts like a type of origin story of the people of Israel.  It is a story of a people who were enslaved and are set free to begin their own journey as a people.  While not in our reading selection, the crossing of the Red Sea is often seen as a type of symbolic birth narrative.  

So the question for Christians is what does the exodus story, and especially the Passover retelling of the story, say to us and how does it proclaim good news?  For Christians, we do have a tie to Passover.  The Last Supper was a Passover Seder.  Christians recount the Last Supper each week in worship.  And in a similar way, it’s not just a retelling of something that happened long ago.  Instead, we participate in the Last Supper in a way – we receive Christ’s body and blood.  And in so doing become a part of the story.